Some contemporary geopolitical entities that wish to be recognised as de juresovereign states have been hindered by a lack of diplomatic recognition. In the past, similar entities have existed, and there are now entities claiming independence, often with de facto control of their territory, with recognition ranging from almost all other recognised states to no states at all.

There are two traditional doctrines that provide interpretations of when a de juresovereign state should be recognised as a member of the international community. The "declarative" theory defines a state as a person in international law if it meets the following criteria: 1) a defined territory; 2) a permanent population; 3) a government and 4) a capacity to enter into relations with other states. According to declarative theory, an entity's statehood is independent of its recognition by other states. By contrast, the "constitutive" theory defines a state as a person of international law if it is recognised as such by another state that is already a member of the international community.[1]

Several entities reference either or both doctrines in order to legitimise their claims to statehood. There are, for example, entities which meet the declarative criteria (with de facto complete or partial control over their claimed territory, a government and a permanent population), but their statehood is not recognised by one or more other states. Non-recognition is often a result of conflicts with other countries that claim those entities as integral parts of their territory. In other cases, two or more partially recognised entities may claim the same territorial area, with each of them de facto in control of a portion of it (as have been the cases of the Republic of China and People's Republic of China, and North and South Korea). Entities that are only recognised by a minority of the world's states usually reference the declarative doctrine to legitimise their claims.

In many situations, international non-recognition is influenced by the presence of a foreign military force in the territory of the presumptive, self-declaring independent entity, so to make problematic the description of the country de facto status. The international community can judge this military presence too intrusive, reducing the entity to a puppet state where effective sovereignty is retained by the foreign power. Historical cases in this sense can be seen in Japanese-led Manchukuo or German-created Slovakia and Croatia before and during World War II. In 1996-case Loizidou vs. Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights judged Turkey for having exercised authority in the territory of Northern Cyprus.

There are also entities which do not have control over any territory or do not unequivocally meet the declarative criteria for statehood but have been recognised to exist de jure as sovereign entities by at least one other state. Historically this has happened in the case of the Holy See (1870–1929), Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (during Soviet annexation), among other cases. The recognition of the State of Palestine by over one hundred states is a contemporary example. See list of governments in exile for unrecognised governments without control over the territory claimed.

Background

Some states do not establish relations with new nations quickly and thus do not recognise them despite having no dispute and sometimes favorable relations. These are excluded from the list. Some countries fulfill the declarative criteria, are recognised by the large majority of other nations and are members of the United Nations, but are included in the list here because one or more other states do not recognise their statehood, due to territorial claims or other conflicts. Currently there are 193 United Nations (UN) member states. The Holy See holds observer status in the United Nations.[2]

Some states maintain informal (officially non-diplomatic) relations with states that do not officially recognise them. The Republic of China (Taiwan) is one such state, as it maintains unofficial relations with many other states through its Economic and Cultural Offices, which allow regular consular services. This allows the ROC to have economic relations even with states that do not formally recognise it. A total of 56 states, including Germany,[3] Italy,[4] the United States,[5] and the United Kingdom,[6] maintain some form of unofficial mission in the ROC. Kosovo,[7] the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,[8] Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,[9] Abkhazia,[10] Transnistria,[10] Sahrawi Republic,[11] Somaliland,[12] and Palestine[13] also host informal diplomatic missions, and/or maintain special delegations or other informal missions abroad. In the U.S., such offices by unrecognized entities are required to be registered as foreign lobbyist organizations under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) and act as regular lobbyists.

Present geopolitical entities by level of recognition

Non-UN member states not recognised by any state

Somaliland was granted independence by the United Kingdom in 1960 after the decolonisation of British Somaliland and merged with Italian Somaliland a few days later to form Somalia. It declared its independence and withdrew from Somalia in 1991. Currently, no state recognises it.

The Republic of China (ROC, commonly known as Taiwan), constitutionally formed in 1912, is recognised as a state by 22 UN members and the Holy See as of 2011. All other UN member states do not officially recognise the ROC as a state; some of them regard its controlled territory as de jure part of the People's Republic of China (PRC) while some others have used careful diplomatic language to avoid taking a position as to whether the territory of the ROC is part of the PRC.[Note 1]. Throughout the years, the ROC has adopted differing positions towards simultaneous recognition of the ROC and the PRC by other countries.[34]

People's Republic of China claims that the Republic of China no longer exists and claims all of the territory under ROC jurisdiction as part of its sovereign territory.

Northern Cyprus declared its independence in 1983. It is currently recognised by one UN member, Turkey. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has granted Northern Cyprus observer status under the name "Turkish Cypriot State". United Nations Security Council Resolution 541 defines the declaration of independence of Northern Cyprus as legally invalid.[38]

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) declared the State of Palestine in Algiers in 1988. At the time the PLO had no control over any part of the proclaimed territory.[40] Today the PLO executes certain administrative tasks of self-government in most parts of the territories through the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) established in 1994 according to the Oslo Accords and the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement.[41] The PLO participates in the United Nations as a non-state entity with observer status and is designated "Palestine".[42][43]The State of Palestine has membership in the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It is currently recognised by 127 UN member states,[44] as well as the SADR.[45]

Israel does not recognise the state of Palestine and currently occupies the area,[41] All Israeli governments since 1992 have agreed to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with mutually agreed land swaps.

Both the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and Morocco claim sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara. The SADR, which declared its independence in 1976, has been recognised by 84 UN members and is a member state of the African Union. Several states, however, have since retracted or suspended recognition, pending the outcome of a referendum on self-determination, with 57 retaining diplomatic ties.[66][67] Western Sahara is not recognized as part of Morocco by any states, but some states support Moroccan autonomy plan. Moroccan "territorial integrity" is favoured by the Arab League. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 34/37 recognised the right of the Western Sahara people to self-determination and independence and recognised also the Polisario Front as the representative of the Western Sahara people. Western Sahara is currently listed on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

The People's Republic of China (PRC), proclaimed in 1949, is currently not recognised by one UN non-member, the Republic of China (ROC, commonly known as Taiwan). The PRC does not accept diplomatic relations with states that recognise the ROC (22 UN members and the Holy See as of 2011). Most of these states do not officially recognise the PRC as a state, though some states have established relations with the ROC while stating they do not intend to stop recognising the PRC (Kiribati, Nauru).[73][74] Some states which currently only recognise the PRC have attempted simultaneous recognition and relations with the ROC and the PRC in the past (Liberia, Vanuatu).[75][76][77] According to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, the PRC is the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations.[Note 1]

Israel, independent since 1948, is not recognised by 33 UN members and one UN non-member, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[citation needed] (see Arab-Israeli conflict). It is recognised by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was recognized by Israel in 1993 as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Entities considered to be micronations are not included.[Note 2] Even though micronations generally claim to be sovereign and independent, it is often up to debate whether a micronation truly controls its claimed territory.[Note 3] Micronations are usually not considered of geopolitical relevance.[Note 3] For a complete list, see list of micronations.

Those of the current civil wars and other situations with problem over government succession, regardless of temporary alignment with the inclusion criteria (by having control over permanently populated territory or by receiving recognition as state or legitimate government), where the conflict is still in its active phase, the situation is too rapidly changing and no relatively stable rump states have emerged yet.

Those of the current irredentist movements and governments in exile that don't satisfy the inclusion criteria by simultaneously not having control over permanently populated territory and not been recognised as state or legitimate government by any other state.

Notes

^ ab Both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China claim sovereignty over the whole of China, stating China is de jure a single sovereign entity encompassing both the area currently controlled by the PRC and the area currently controlled by the ROC. The position of individual states on this matter varies. Several states fully accept that the PRC's position that there is only one China and that the PRC is the sole legitimate representative of China. Other states merely acknowledge this position, while only recognising the PRC as a state. Some states only recognise the ROC as a state, but have expressed an interest in recognition and relations with both the ROC and the PRC.[33]

^ Micronations are not included even if they are recognised by another micronation, such as the "BjornSocialist Republic" that claims sovereignty over six square metres of Swedish territory, and is recognised by Ladonia, another micronation which claims one square kilometer of Swedish territory.

^ ab It is debatatable whether micronations have sovereign control over their claimed territories, that are of minuscule size, or the state from which the micronation claims to have seceded simply doesn't deem such declaration (and other acts of the micronation) important enough to react in any way and considers the micronation to be a combination of unofficial private announcements of individuals and a private property, where the individuals remain its (of the state that the micronation claims to have seceded from) citizens and the property remains part of its territory and both remain subject to its laws.

^ Bush III, Richard C. "The Role of the United States in Taiwan-PRC Relations", Taiwan: Beyond the Economic Miracle M.E. Sharpe, Inc. ISBN 0-87332-879-5 p. 358 Online version available at Google Books

^ Global Investment and Business Center, Inc. Staff Taiwan Foreign Policy and National Security Yearbook 2011 Second Edition International Business Publications, USA ISBN 0-7397-3660-4Online version available at Google Books

^ abStaff writers (20 February 2008). "Palestinians 'may declare state'". BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7254434.stm. Retrieved 2011-01-22.:"Saeb Erekat, disagreed arguing that the Palestine Liberation Organisation had already declared independence in 1988. "Now we need real independence, not a declaration. We need real independence by ending the occupation. We are not Kosovo. We are under Israeli occupation and for independence we need to acquire independence".

^Shelley, Toby (1988). "Spotlight on Morocco". West Africa (London: West Africa Publishing Company Ltd) (3712–3723: December 5–31): 2282. "...the SADR was one of the first countries to recognise the state of Palestine."

^Israel's Disengagement Plan: Renewing the Peace Process: "Israel will guard the perimeter of the Gaza Strip, continue to control Gaza air space, and continue to patrol the sea off the Gaza coast. ... Israel will continue to maintain its essential military presence to prevent arms smuggling along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (Philadelphi Route), until the security situation and cooperation with Egypt permit an alternative security arrangement."

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